Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
9 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau
9 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
[No title]
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
By WESTMINSTER. LONDON, SATURDAY. Most people will agree with the "Daily JSTews" in the opinion that the speech made t>y Sir William Harcourt at the dinner given in his honour by the Radical members of the 'House of Commons was quite worthy of shimself and his hosts. One expected nothing fetter from Sir William, who throughout long career has never shown' a spark of jthe magnanimity which, is an attribute of any reallv great character, than that he should ,play the braggart and make a purely partisan and petty deliverance on what might have been a great historical occasion. One can .imagine to what noble use a. truly great .;Jead«r like Mr. Gladstone would have put such an opportunity. But Sir William Har- court has never been a statesman. He is a successful soldier of fortune, who by a strange course of events has dropped into the posItIOn of leader of a set of men with whom he has no real sympathy, but who find him useful in carrying into effect a policy mat suits their interest. Naturally, and by train- ing an aristocrat in his tastes and connec- tions, Sir William aspired at different neriods of his life to lead either the Whigs or the Conservatives; but, by an odd freak of .fate. he never got a chance of promotion to ;the position he had always hoped to win of deader of the House of Commons till the secession of the Liberal Unionists offered (him a, prospect of advancement. Sir William epeaks very bitterly of secession and seces- sionists. but personally he ought to be veiy much obliged to Mr. Chamberlain and the other Liberals of the front rank who pre- ferred patriotism to party and abandoned 1Ifr. Gladstone when the Home Rule Bill of 1886 was brought forward. It was this seces- sion a,] one which allowed Sir William to .become the leader, or the tool. of a political coalition of the most odious kind between the Rump of the Liberal party and those Irish ^Nationalists of whom Sir William was not many years ago the most conspicuous reviler. (The great, work on which he prides himself, the Budget of the present year, has, no 'doubt, given immense delight to the people he wished to plea.se, for we none of us like taxation, and a. Chancellor of the Exchequer whc has the impudence to make his political opponents alone pay the increased revenue J1: wants is sure to be very popular with a party which cares nothing for the good of thj State, and only regards politics as a m :ans 0; promoting its own private inte- yrests. It. is labour lost for Sir William •court to pretend that the victims of his jSBudget object to pay their fair share of taxation. Tliis they are perfectly willing to do; what they compiain of is that they &re required by the present Chancellor of the Exchequer to pay other people's shares as JPall. Mr. Jacob Bright. in his speech as chairintn of the banquet, put the Radical ease for the Budget with an indiscreet plain- ness which must have somewhat disconcerted ,the guest of the evening. Th* additional expenditure on the. Navy, Tie "aiŒ was due to a "scare" raised by the Unionists, and, therefore, the bill ought to be paid by the iUnionists. The of; the Navy ,-Iaa.s not, then, according to the statement made by this too candid friend, been adopted by the. Government as a truly national policy for which ..the whole nation ought to pay. It has been forced upon them by the Opposition. The country will bear this confession in mind when at the general elec- tion the Government tries to take credit to 7f for having maintained the efficiency M the Navy. The Duke of Devonshire tar afford to treat with contempt Sir William jjElarcourt's ponderous jeers at the moderate fand well-reasoned exposition he gave in the ,I-Iouse of Lords of the economical ccnse- quenee.s which the Budget will have in country districts. Sir William has revived .recently the practice of garnishing speeches ,-with Latin quotations, and I may, therefore, 1b pardoned for saying that the attitude of the Radicals towards the landed interest, which they expect to bear the main burden iof taxation, reminds one of the well-known line in Juvenal, "Cantabit vacuus coram 3atrone viator," the robber in this instance e being the State. As to the future, Sir William says nothing definite. He tried to console Sir Wilfrid Lawson with the sugges- tion that the Local Veto Bill might pos- sibly be heard of a.gain next year, but what is the value of such an assurance when Lord IBoLtbery ha.s already promised that the iWelsh Disestablishment Bill shall have the first place next session? Sir William said n_ nothing about his respected chief on Wednes- day. but the galling consciousness that not lie himself, but Lord Rosebery, will lay dowr. the policy of the Government hampered liun in his comments on the action of the !Hon.se of Lords and prevented him from indicating any direct line of attack on the Upper House. The note of weariness which made Sir William Harcourt's speech fall flat is percep- tible in all the proceedings of the House of Commons, and it accounts for the readiness with which both parties have welcomed the passing or resolutions which will quickly bring tc. ar. end the discussion of the Evicted Tenants Bill and allow the session to ter- minate before the month is out. I should not be at all surprised to hear that Sir William Harcourt and Mr. Balfour had had a. hearty laugh together over the farce of the Government's pretended eagerness to pass this Bill into law. The Government was obliged to introduce the Bill in order to I please the Irish Nationalists, but it was certain from the outset that in its present form the Bill would be thrown out by the .1 House of Lords. I sympathise with Mr. Courtney in his desire that a compromise should be arranged; but what hope is there that the Bill will do any good after the speeches made on Wednesday by Mr. Dillon and Mr. Redmond, who declared that there 'would be a revival of Boycotting and intimi- dation in Ireland unle«c t-Iie Government consented to add a clause, which Mr. Morlsy felt himself hound to resist, providing for the eviction of even those bona-fide tenants 'who have taken farms of which the former holders were dispossessed for sufficiently good reasons? The Government really neither expects nor wishes to pass any further legislation this session. It is content with the accomplishment of the meritorious feat !()f remaining in office for another year, and :wants to have a little ease and comfort before making an appeal to the country. For all practical purposes, therefore, the session may even now be considered at an ■end. i The political situation is a very curious one. The Government certainly does not enjoy the confidence of the country, but it has procured for, itself a fresh lease of office by putting on one side for a time those measures which excite vehement contro- varrr and lead to the transfer of votes from one side to another. People do not jelearly understand yet what Lord Rosebery is1 aiming at, and they are content to wait for a. further development of his policy. The Opposition, on the other hand, have failed to break the cohesion of the Ministerial forces by mere talking, and a cynic might be. inclined to doubt if they will upset the Government till they have succeeded in foiiying over one or other of the many factions of which the existing majority of the House cf Commons is composed. The pre- fect state of feeling is, of course, largely due to the retirement of Mr. Gladstone. There has not yet been time to settle who is to take his place and who will be the per- manent leader of the Liberal party. The Opposition, again, are still broken up into two parties, which on a great many questions do not act in perfect unison. Mr. Balfour's reputation has grown rapidly this session, but the question of pre-eminence between himself and Mr. Chamberlain has not yet been set at rest, and in both the Conservative and the Liberal Unionist camps there is a growing desire for that fusion under one chief which would secure greater concentra- tion of purpose and energy of action. Lord RfctsSalph Churchill is, of course, now out of the running. His health has so com- pletely broken down that it is doubtful if lL) will ever able to take part in public life agrin. It is impossible not to deplore this collapse of a great career, and Conserva- tives will be very ungrateful if they ever forget that it was the inspiring genius of Lord Randolph which raised their party from the depths of despondency into which it lisd fall&u after the defeat and death or Lord Beticor.s&eld. Mr. Gladstone, having been compelled to give up politics, has turned, for comfort to theology." His plea, for the growth of Christian charity araoag warring Churches is characteristically diiluse and vague, and in reading it one. often asks oneself what the author is driving at. But his meaning has certainly been misconstrued by a critic in the "Westminster' Gaz'tti,' who says that Mr. Gladstone's article k a manifesto against "Diggleism," that is tc say, against the plan of religious "i schools with which Mr. Diggle's name is identified. As Mr- Gladstone expressly declares that the two main doctrines of the Christian faith are the Incarnation and the Trinity, and that with regard to these no compromise is possib'e. and as ail that Mr. Higgle asks is tnat the teaching of these doctrines in elementary schools should be protected against- the aggressive intolerance, of Unitari-ans and Secu- larists, such a piece, of criticism seems to be singularly inept and misleading. It were well not to be too hasty in con- demning the Japanese for the sinking of a Chinese transport with troops on board. To talk of an insult to the British flag is downright nonsense. The transport belonged to British owners, who had chartered her to the Chinese- GOY" "1 ènt for the con- veyance of troops to C, d: and this was a warlike opera,tio-n which the Japanese, in the existing state of affairs., had a perfect right to put a stop to. The neutral flag in such a case cannot be recognised by belli- gerents as affording any protection to the ship, otherwise we should be reduced to the absurd conclusion that an enemy can send reinforcements anywhere by making use of the neutral flag. It appears, again, that the captain of the Japanese man-of-war made several efforts to save the ship and all on board before firing at her, and that he would have been satisfied if the transport had, in obedience to his orders, followed the war- ship to a Japanese port. The Chinese troops, however, frustrated these" humane efforts, as they preferred dying to being taken prisoners. This first action seems to have had the effect of stimulating the Chinese Government to an unwonted display of energy, and it now looks as if the war will become a very serious business- The flight of Londoners fron town this week has been amusingly sudden aaxd com- plete. The fashionable street's arsd squares of the West End are quite desolate, the residents being all supposed to have gone to Goodwood, en route "for Cov>;es, and then to Homburg; but, as a matter of fact, a large proportion of them have betaken them- selves to Margate, Ramsgate, and other sea- side places beloved cf the common people. I mentioned last week that the season has been a much better one for tradespeople than had been anticipated. A West End tailor told me a day or two ago that he had done an exceptionally good trade with American customers, most of whom were kept at home last year by bad trade and the attractions of the Chicago Exhibition. This year they have flocked to London again, and have spent money very freely. It is a. curious thing that all the men of fashion in New York buy their clothes in London, in spite of the heavy duties placed on im- ports into the States. They can, perhaps, get as good materials at home, but they cannot get the English cut and style. The "Pall Mall Magazine" ha's two inte- resting papers this month on the ever-fresh subject of the Waterloo Campaign, one being Lord Wolseley's final article on the decline and fall of Napoleon, and the other a paper by Archibald Forbes on famous war horses, in which, apropos of the duke's charger, Copenhagen, "one of the most obscure and seemingly insolvable problems that military history presents," namely, whether Welling- ton saw Bluoher on the night before the Battle of Waterloo, is carefully discussed. Lord Wolseley deals with this problem also, being of opinion that Wellington "cannot have rt reived any letter giving him specific promise of Prussian support until about three o'clock on the morning of the 18th, is to say, at an hour when., if he meant to retreat, his arrangements for that operation ought to, have been begun." On the other hand, it is certain that at nine o'clock on the morning of the 17tlh Wellington saw an officer sent by Bluoher, and told him he would stand and fight south on the battle-ground he had already selected if Bluclier would support him by two, or even one, Prussian corps. He must, at that time, have leceived from the Prussian officer information as to the state of the Prussian army which satisfied him that this movement could be carried out; and the letter sent by Blucher late the same night merely specified the way in whidh the assistance he relied upon would be given. The duke seems to have feared, however, that he might be said to have acted rashly in waiting at Waterloo before getting a precise and definite statement that Bluoher would be able to come to his aid, for many years afterwards he told a. romantic story of a night ride he made on Copenhagen to see Bluclier. who was twelve miles away. Field Marshal Wolseley discreetly says that "the balance of evidence is rather in favour of the truth of this story" but the more outspoken Mr. Forbes declares that "the external evidence in favour of the authenticity of the duke's ride to Wavre is not strong." Napoleon gave the rein to his imagination very freely with regard to what happened in this campaign is it possible that our own Iron Duke followed his rival's example in telling, twenty years after the battle, this queer story of his midnight ride? One of the beet bits, of criticism in Lord Wolseley's paper is the remark, "At this time' —ten a.m. on the 18th—"neither' Napoleon nor Grouchy dreamed of Blucher's bold and public-spirited movement, with all its risks, direct across from Wavre to Waterloo. Their only dream of a junction by the Prus- sians with Wellington's army was in the direction of Brussels-" "No one," he adds, "can be better aware, no one can be prouder, than I anI of the magnificent co^'age and steadiness of the British soldier at Waterloo; but, when every allowance is made for it the honest historian must admit that- it was the splendid audacity of the P i i move upon St. Lambert and the I nght, due to the personal loyalty of 1 to Wellington and in opposition to the egic views of Gneisenau, that determined the fate of Napoleon's army"; determined its complete rout and utter ruin; but surely toe real crisis ot the battle iiag the attacic of the Imperial Guard on the English right. By that time Napoleon had repulsed the Prussian attack on his own right, and if he could have succeeded in the final charge on the British line the position of the allied a.rmy would haye beer one of extreme peril Now. the Imperial Guard, the very essence a.nd fine, flower of the military svstem of Napoleon, was not merely repulsed, but broken and crushed at Waterloo, by Saltoun's Guards and the 52nd Regiment under Colbome, with no help from any other troops; and from that moment Napoleon's position became hopeless, and the battle ended in the greatest military catas- trophe recorded in history. As I am leaving town for the holidays, this is the last budget of notes I shall "be able to send you for some weeks to come. d
DR. JOSEPH PARRY IN AMERICA.
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
DR. JOSEPH PARRY IN AMERICA. INTERESTING LETTERS FROM THE WELSH MUSICIAN. Dr. Joseph Parry, the distinguished Welsh musician, started for America on June 23, and is now engaged in touring the States and in deliver- ing- lectures on "Music" in the numerous Welsh centres which exist amid the teaming popula- tions of the great American Republic. We have been favoured with several com- munications from the doctor, giving an interesting- narrative of the incidents of his trip across the Atlantic, and of his doings up to July 13, and these have been supplemented by newspaper cuttings which have reached us describing the enthusiastic receptions which have been accorded to the talented Welshman since his arrival in America. We are unable to give Dr. Parry's letters in full, but publish below portions of them. Dr. Parry, Mrs. Parry, Miss Dilys Parry, Miss Blanche Clarke, Cardiff; Mr. Greville (Dr. Parry's cousin), and Mrs. Greville, forming a cosy little party, embarked on board the steamship Uinbria, a Cunard liner, at 4.30 p.m. on June 23, and at 4.45 D'eloclic were on the way to Queenstown. A thick fog prevailed, but Queenstown Was reached in safety at seven o'clock on Sunday morning, June 24, and a wait was made for the noon mail. By Monday morning the Uinbria, with 198 saloon passengers, 112 intermediate passengers, 271 steerage passengers, and 294 officers, seamen, and firemen on board, was far away from the busy haunts of man ,t, floating village in an oceanic world For the first few days the weather was foggy and somewhat rough, but the doctor jubilantly- informs us that he managed this time to escape sea-sickness. In describing the steamer Dr. Parry says The magnificent dining-saloon, with live long tables, also each state or bedroom, a.s well as all the massages, are lit with electric light, so that nights on board areas days. There is a, fine American organ with 25 stops. It is a most orchestral-like instru- ment. A finer one I never played upon. Its beauty of tone and variety of effects really inspires one. The fog continued until the Friday morning, when the sun broke through the atmospherical veil, and everything became bright and cheerful. A strange coincidenco is mentioned by Dr. Parry. On board the steamer was a Mrs. Martin, from Ohio, whom Dr. and Mrs. Parry met on the Berlin, from Liverpool to New York, in 1880. Neither of them had crossed from England to New York in the meantime. The Umbria arrived in New York on Saturday evening, June 30, and the passengers landed on Sunday morning. Several of Dr. and Mrs. Parry's relatives had journeyed to New York to meet them, and they were accompanied by Mr. J. M. Price (Dr. Parry's first teacher in harmony and composition), and the successful vocalist, Professor J. W. Parson Price. Writing under date July 13, the doctor says On Monday we left New York by the nine sl.in train for Scranton. On our arrival there an old friend. Judge H. M. Edwards, Mrs. Edwards, and n any others met us, and we spent one of the happiest of weeks at the judge's house. And it was a most event- ful week, the programme being an eisteddfod on July 4, a grand reception on the 5th, and my lecture on the 6th. The reception was one that I shall never forget as long as my memory lasts. The many speeches of my old friends took us all back fun 30 years to the happy days gone by. I seemed to see again many faces and bright smiles that vanished for ever, and sweet voices that made music in our can; years ago seemed to be with llS once more. Yes, this meet- ing was truly a sweetly sad one, and I shall never forget it. This finn city of Scranton has made wonderful strides. Electric cars are seen creeping through all the city streets, as .well as to all the suburbs. All tta streets and the houses are lit by electricity. A drive through the shady n venues by night disclosed a scene like fairyland, so very beautiful are the streets, houses, and the lights, '"•u Sunday night at eight we attended the Elm Park- vreet Methodist Church, the most idealistic church i ever saw. It is more like a palace concert-room. The sittings for 2,000 were well filled, and the church was brilliantly lit with huge and magnificent chan- deliers-electrically, of coui-se-ancl the accompani- ments were played on a magnifient organ, worth about £ 2,COO, and worked by electricity. They had here the usiail quartette of engaged artistes, who each receive from 40dols. to 60dols., the young organist having 10(1018. per annum. We calleclat Kingston, twenty miles from Scranton, and there saw my sister and family, also our dear old friends the Hon. Daniel Edwards and family, and the Bev. T. C. Edwards, D.D. (late of South Wales), and his happy family. rYe are now in Danville, still 50 miles lower down, where my wife's brother and sister live, and where we lived for fully twenty yeai-s. Words would fail to convey our feelilgs on our visit to this dear old place. We found there a new generation, the old friends having nearly all passed away. To-morrow I commence my lecture tour at Kingston. On Monday, the 16th, I will be at Shamokin, at Plymouth on the 17th, and AVilkes-Barre on the 18th. From there I shall go some 303 miles to Johnston on the 20th. I shall be at Pittsburg on the 21&.t, Yonngstown (Ohio) on the 25th, Cleveland City on the 23th, Gomer on the 30th, and Cincinnati city on August 2. Then I have a long journey to Chicago and Illinois, and from there I proceed to the State of Wisconsin. I shall have to be back, however, to this State and district of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre for a two-day large eisteddfod, and I am booked to give a series of lectures and an orchestral concert. Some hymn tune festivals at Philadelphia and New), ork cities will conclude my tour. In accordance with a. promise made to Mr. Lascelles Carr, I hope to keep the "Western Mail," and through that widely-circulated journal all my friends informed of my movements. The American papers published in Scranton and the other towns visited by Dr. Parry have been giving exhaustive reports of his lectures and speak of him as" the most famous of the musicians of Wales," the pioneer of Welsh opera," &c. The Scranton Tribune of July 3 thus refers to the doctor's appearance:- Dr. Parry is a middle-aged, dignified, and pleasant gentleman. His long, silver hair gives him the ap- pearance of a born composer. He was much impressed with the remarka.ble growth and progress made in every direction of this city, which piace he has not visited since twenty years. Dr. Parry was bom in Wales and came to this country many years ago, locating at Danville. Residing there for a time he afterwards returned to Wales, where he has since become one of the most famous and recognised of Cymry's bevy of musical masters. He is well acquainted with numerous musicians and residents in this city and valley. His works have made him famous throughout the civilised world, and his name in musicalnmtters has been always upheld as autho- rity. Describing the reception tendered to Dr. Parry in the First Welsh Congregational Church on South Main-avenue, the Scranton Tribune says that Judge Edwards took the chair, and the meeting was a most enthusiastic one. The Hev. David Jones, pastor of the church, delivered a short address in Welsh, and was followed in English by Attorney W. Gaylord Thomas, who said that Dr. Parry was worthy of all the honours they could bestow upon him. There was no Welsh- man who adopted that county as his home but v'nat became a good patriotic American. There were no Anarchistic or Socialistic ideas in him, ard this he attributed to the refining and elevating qualities of music, in which the Welsh- man was so proficient. The Hon, Morgan P. Williams, of Wilkes-Barre, thenspokein Welsh, and was followed by Mr. A. J. Colborn. jun., a native of Somersetshire. Mr. Benjamin Hug'hes, the last speaker, added an eloquent tribute to the praises showered upon the doctor. Having replied, Dr. Parry sang a song of his own composition, entitled, "Make new friends, but keep the old," with great success. At Mear's-hall Dr. Parry delivered a really able lecture on Music," in which he intimated that his ambition in life was to establish a Welsh national academy of music, and in which he put forward powerful pleas for the cultivation and development of musical art. 'Sr"-
REMARKABLE DEATH OF AN OFFICER.
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
REMARKABLE DEATH OF AN OFFICER. Mr. T. R. Stevenson, a young officer in the 93rd Highlanders, has just died at Birkenhead under remarkable circumstances. Two months ago, while on service with the regiment in India, he was bitten by a dog which he stopped to pat. As it was afterwards found the dog was mad, Lieutenant Stevenson was sent off to Pasteur's Institute in Paris. He returned home to Birkenhead a. fortnight ago apparently cured and in robust health. On Monday he was taken ill again, and died three days later from a peculiar form of hydrophobia, the throat alone being affected. In- iW _J.!i"'JI
Advertising
Hysbysebu
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
Ask for Tyler and Co.'a Pi'ize Medal Yarns,
CAERWENT AND PRINCE GENERAL…
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
CAERWENT AND PRINCE GENERAL CARACTACUS AP BRAN. AN INTERESTING RECORD. "Morien" writes:—Any new light on the history of Caractacus, the great Welsh-British commander-in-chief againslfc the Romans), would be hailed with delight, not only by his fellow countrymen, but also by all intelligent men throughout the civilised world. It has been widely circulated lately that Caraotaeus, after he was set at liberty by Ctssar Nero, settled..# Caerwent, Monmouthshire. Now, Caerwent is a profoundly interesting locality for its historical associations. It marks the site of the very earliest Roman station in Wales. After crossing the Severn in the night to Caldicote Pill, the Roman legions hurried inland as far as Oaer Gwent, which name is shortened to Caerwent, and fortified, the place, while the British Army was between the Wye and Gloucester, under bhe Prince General Caractacus, to which position he and his army had, as it appears," fallen back from England, after that portion of the North of England, on their left, which was governed by Queen Aregwedd Voeddig (Car- liima-ndria), had proved) unifaithlful \to the native cause. The Roman Army was under the command of General Ostorius Scapula, who, a few years later, put an end to ois own life, when Nero had sent a centurion to slay him, while he was on his own estate at Liguria. His only offence was that the poet Antistius (a praetor) had recited at his table verses against the Emperor (Annals xiv., s. 48; xvi., e. 14 and 15.) Tacitus, in the Annals xii., s. 39., has previously stait,ed that Ostorius Scapula had died from anxiety brought about by the tremendous resistance of Welshmen offered to the maroh of the Romans into their country, which inarch started from Caerwent. It is admitted by Tacitus that General Gwyn (Venusius), the uncle of Caraotaeus, inflicted, after the cap- ture of the latter, a tremendous defeat on the Romans, but did not then succeed in driving them away. Caraotaeus and the other British captives were released, alt Rome by order of Nero, in A. ID. 60, as a token of his joy at the murder of his mother, Agrippina. It appears eer- tain Caractacus. and Bran, his father, together with Princess Eurgan ap Bran (Claudia) and Pudens, her husband, a Roman, returned to Glamorgan, and that the remainder of the life of the renowned Welsh Prince. Caraotaeus was spent at St. Donat.'s Castle, whose Welsh name is the deeply significant- one of Aber Gwaredwyr. or the Aber of the Rescued Ones. We know that Princess Eurgan established a university with twelve tutors, in honour of the Twelve Apostles, at Llantwit Major: that the university bore her name. Bangor Eurgan (corrupted to Wrgorn, &c.), and that it successively bore the names of Tewdrig, after cne of the most zealous Christian kings of Gla- morgan who flourlshed ill the fifth century then Ilitud (Iltutus), and now Lla.n—"Twit" (!) a corruption of Iltutus. Leland in A.D. 1530 ascertained that King Hywel Dda lies buried at Llan "Twit" Major, and it is ex- tremely probable that Caraotaeus and his daughter also lie buried there. No monument- marks the spot, but, as Byron said of the heroes of Greece- "A mightier monument command— The mountains of their native land." One could have said of Caractacus, as was said of a glorious Roman, 'his richest apparel were his scars; his strongest- fortifications his native mountains, and his healthiest exer- cise behind his plough." It appears to me, as conclusively proved by Dr. Stiliingfleet, dean of St. Paul's, in his "Origines Britannicae," that St. Paul, who was set at liberty by Nero on the same occasion, accompanied Caractacus and his family to Glamorgan, and that the apostle was here seven years. As! Stillingfleieit points cut, seven years, from A.D. 60 to A.D. 67, are unaccounted for in the life of St. Paul, and that the earliest records of the primitive Church' state he spent those years in the "utmost bounds of the West," which must have been Wales. We know further that Bran the Blessed, the father of Caractacus, spent those seven years at Rome as a sub- stitute for his illustrious son Caractacus. St. Paul^ was beheaded at Rome by the sentence of Nero, in A.D. 68, which date makes it clear that. St. l"iull had fyirried from Glamor- gan to the Imperial citv in consequence of the persecution of the Jews, including the Christians, which had broken out there at tne instigation of Nero. That St. Peter did likewise is evidenced by the fact that he also was put to death in what are now the Gardens of the Vatican by being crucified, while St. iaul, as a Roman citizen, was beheaded with tne sword. Nero was slain in June, A.D. 68 and it appears it wa.s immediately after that tragic event, and the ascension of Cassa-r Galba" that .t)ra,l the Blessed, and his granddaughter Eurgan, with several Christian missionaries, returned to Siluria, as Glamorgan and Mon- mouthshire were then called. It is certain Inncess Eurgan (Claudia) was at Rome at the time of the martyrdom of St. Paul, for in the last verses of the apostle's last letter he mention^ the beloved V^elsh princess under her Roman name of Claudia formerly the protege of Claudius Cæsar, the uncle-stepfather of Nero. At this time Caerwent was the second line ot the Roman defence on the Wye against the Silitriai),,3, while their fortified place on the C Sit., at Caerlleon on Usk, was their first line. Had the Welsh general been at Caerwent he would have been there within the RonMn lines, and, therefore, a prisoner still. TVe do not know under what, circumstances the oiiunan princes were set at libertv and per- mitted to return home to South Wales, but we know that under General Julius Frontinus the ivomans were advancing' into Glamorgan in A D u f r°bably that during the ten years since the death of Nero, many unrecorded episedas favourable to the Britons had taken plaoe and conditions made and broken. We know that even in the days of Constantius, in the third century, the Britons, Carawn (Caransius), a native Welshman of St, David's, defeated the ivoman General Bassianus. He then assumed J of A"ffustus and Imperator. He defied Diocletian and Maximian, and eventually, was acknowledged Emperor of Britain by the Roman Senate. He ruled, as his coins still prove, for seven years, and his reign was distin- guished by much magnificence a.nd works of great utility. In A.D. 302 he was assassinated by the direction of the Emperor Constantine, himself a W elshman by the mother's side. I find those who confound the renoTvneel Caractacus, or Caradawg ap Bran, of the Roman period, with another of the same name, namely, King Caradawg ab Ynir Gwent, who flourished during the early part of t,he sixth century. King Ynir Gwent, the father of the said Caradawg, was the King of the two Gwents, and resided at or near Caerwent, the Venta Silurum of the Romans. He established a college, or Bangpr (High School), at Caer- went, and appointed St. Tathan of Llantwit- Major its first principal!. St. Tathan, or Tatha?us, was his confessor, and that of Caradawg, his, son, after him. The School of Caarwent was called Bangor Dathan. St. Tathan lies buried at St. Dathan o'r Athan. Vale of Glamorgan. For further particulars of this Caradawg ab Ynir Gwent, of Caerwent, see "Life of St. Dathan," "Lives of the Cambro- British Saints," pages 580-584. St. Dathan spoke thus of Caerwent: — "A city that is good, fruitful, lofty, noble, situate in Gwent, Which is my lot, and granted by heavenly fawour to its citizens. And which constantly affords succour, being careful to defend you, And it defends us. and governs those who rre to be defended." He is recorded to have said the following comfortable wisdom to rich men "Has thou heard the saying of Tathan after losing the whole? God will not portion out. unjustly."
AN ANCIENT CUSTOM.
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
AN ANCIENT CUSTOM. The Lord Mayor has, according to ancient usage, received from Mr. Herbert Gladstone, the First Commissioner of Works, warrants for four bucks from Richmond Great Park. The sheriffs have received three, and the recor- der, chamberlain, town-clerk, common ser- jea.nt, and remembrancer one each. Similar venison are issued in December. These warrants had their origin in the early charters granted to the citizens of London in which their "huntings" were secured to them. The first records for the custom date from 110L
THE CRUISE OF THE TRAFALGAR.
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
THE CRUISE OF THE TRAFALGAR. STORY OF THE BOY CAPTAIN. About last Christmas there came to us from the other side of the world news of a ship that, having lost her officers by death, was piloted safely to port through many and many a. mile of water by an apprentice boy. The ship was the Trafalgar, a. fine four-master of 1,700 tons, belonging to the Clyde, and on a voyage from Batavia, Java, to Melbourne. The apprentice boy was Mr. William Shotton, who corned of sailors, his father, Captain Stephen Shotton, Deing one, and his grand- father before that. Now he is back from his voyaging, and at his home in Gloucestershire. To a representative of the "Daily Chronicle". he has told the story of the voyage thus "I was bound apprentice for four years on board the Trafalgar, and a very good iron ship I think her. The first stage of the cruise, which ended in a manner that interests you, was from Cardiff to Rio with coal. Then from Rio we. proceeded to New York in ballast, and from New York to Batavia with a cargo of case-oil. O-.ptain Edgar died from dava fever at Batavia. We left, and when we sailed two men were ill in hospital from it, and two other men In rl deserted. I was m--seli attacked, was in bed for days on end, suffered from the fver all through the voyage which followed, and even now feel it occasionally. After the cantain's death Mr. Roberts, who had been first mate, took charge of the ship to take her to Melbourne, where we were going, again in ballast. We got a new first mate, Mr. Norwood, while a man who had been taken from among the crew was second mate, and I was ranked, as I had been, third mate. My term of apprenticeship, if the point is worth mentioning, had expired a few days after we left New York. "We had 23 hands altogether, the crew being a mixture of nationalities, a number of them', Dutchmen. We sailed from Batavia on Octo- ber 29-ht October, of course—and on Novem- ber 9 an able seaman died of fever. By that time, too, the master, Mr, Roberts, was down, and Mr. Norwood, I think, read the service at the funeral of the able seaman. The ship was hove to during the service, as the way is, and on every occasion afterwards that was observed. The master died on November 15, and the car- penter on the same day, and Mr. Norwood died on the 21st, and the cook on December 7." "I imagine that during the illness of the master and the first mate you must already have had something to do with the navigation of the ship?" "Yes; because the second mate could not navigate, and the death of Mr. Roberts and Mr. Norwood left me the only one on board who could navigate at all. Perhaps the position was rather a difficult one for a lad of eighteen, but, somehow, I can't remember that I ever really thought about it. Anyhow, I had been at the navigation of the vessel some days be- fore the complete responsibility fell upon me'" "When you were to all intents captain of the Trafalgar, what was the attitude of the crew?" "I hardly know, but I told them I thought 'I could sail the ship all right to Melbourne. The deaths had demoralised them, and it could hardly comfort them to have the apprentice for skipper—they were in a bad way altogether. They wanted me to make for Fremantle as the nearest Australian port, because they were arxious to be off the ship. I knew that a great expense would be incurred for the owners if I put into Fremantle or any other port saving the one which was our destination. I, therefore, told the men that if I could steer the sehip to Fremantle I could steer to Melbourne, and that, I would not steer to the former, and would throw up the whole business if they insisted upon it. It was necessary to take a plan and stick to it. Their spokesman came and wanted to see the chart, being evi- dently suspicious. I asked why did he want it, and he said—what was not true—that he wished to see where a place inland in Aus- tralia lay. I told him my chart only showed the coast, not the inland' parts of Australia, and I heard no more of the matter." "Should I be right in taking it that you had to contend with trouble on the part of the crew?" "Whatever there was arose from the circum- stances of the whole position, not out of any feeling towards me. The second mate and I had watch and watch about, and as to that, there is rather an amusing matter, which I may tell you." "The clock by which we made the time of the ship hung in the binnacle, and I got sus- picious that it was being flogged—that is, altered—in the interest of making the time of those in the mate's watch shorter, and, conse- quently, mine longer. As that ^ras a,rt^7, fair, I thought it had better be stopped, and X brought to my assistance the fact that the crevf, strongly believed the room in which the mace had died to be haunted. They thought they saw the mate moving about in it at all times, and they would not go near it. I had the clock put into this room, with a light near it when dark, so that its face could be seen through the skylight. Nobody wanted to go in and flog that clock any more." "Among the other little difficulties with the men you had to overcome, was there not one, as to a plundering of the provision cabin by some of them?" "Yes; I stated that unless the names of those who had interfered with the provisions were given me I should call in the ponce when we reached Melbourne. I got the names, and there was no further looting. When we got near land the men became quite demonstrative towards me, and when we sighted Port Philip Head they gave me a hearty cheer. I was all angel then." "Now, what about the weather—was it a good voyage?" r "Until we came up to the longitude of about Adelaide we had fine weather; then we had three very hard days blowing. The main and mizzen topsails were split, and the main lower topsail flew out of the bunt-lines altogether. However, although that was a bit of weather,, it did no harm to us, and we re-placed tha. injured canvas with new, all right. There wa-e, < no difficulty at any time in navigating the ship, and we reached I,Jel bourne on December 17. Perhaps our last night at sea was as anxious as any we had, for we struck the coast shortly before dark, and, our chart being an old one, I could not venture to go in. There was no- thing for it, but to put about and beat off shore in very rough weather until the morn- ing, and everybody was glad, after so trange i a voyage, to get ashore. A new captain had/ gone to Melbourne to take over the ship when Y she should arrive, and I came home in her as | third mate, having taken my certificate m Mel- bourne." "I believe, they made a good deal of you Australia, did they not?" bourne." "I believe, they made a good deal of you Australia, did they not?" "Oh, they were verv kind, but for all the kindness I have got, I don't know that I care to go on such another voyage as that. Still if it came to having to do it, why, 1 thmk I could get through it. In managing the Trafal- gar I bad this great advantage—that 1 nad been on board her for years, and knew every peculiarity and characteristic she had." ouch d is the story of the boy captain, and he would just have readily not have told it. I II'JmY' -ø..ø,
A DETFItnINED SUICIDE, i
Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
A DETFItnINED SUICIDE, i CUTTING HER THROAT IN FRONT OF- A LOOKING-GLASS, On Friday morning Mary Ann Allott, aged 21 years, landlady of the Tiger Inn, Oldbury, committed suicide in a most determined manner. She resided at the public-house namedj with her aunt,. Emma Mann, and her brotlierg Between six and seven o'clock on Friday mornj ing the deceased, who has been strange in he? manner for some weeks past, inflicted a terrible wound in her throat with a large carving-knife whilst she was standing in front of a looking stq glass in her bedroom. Afterwards she walked1 into her aunt's bedroom adjoining, and, as weJJ as she could, said she hoped God would blesi her aunt. The latter called for assistance, and the deceased was subseq icntly found at the top of the stairs bleeeding profusely from the wound she had inflicted. Dr. Buttery was called in, but his services were of no avail, The despondent state of the deceased's mind is accounted for by the. fact that about three months ago her father and mother died, botli deaths taking place within about three months, and this preyed upon her mind.
Advertising
Hysbysebu
Dyfynnu
Rhannu
HH ["BLUE CROSS" kW2 Imwmwu nlo